It’s cold and flu season which means sniffles, sneezes, coughs, and body aches. Nothing is worse than suffering through a week of feeling completely awful. Luckily — there’s an easy way to provide relief.
Taking over-the-counter medicine or eating homemade chicken noodle soup are some traditional ways to help relieve the uncomfortable and irritating cold or flu symptoms, but they might not always do the trick; especially when it comes to severely clogged sinuses.
There’s a surprising way to relieve pressure and clear your sinuses in an all-natural and simple way — with your fingers! But don’t worry, you won’t be resorting to kindergarten behavior, keep reading to find out how you can have instant sinus relief.
Licensed massage therapist Heather Wibbels shows how to drain blocked sinuses by gently massaging the lymphatic system.
The lymphatic system in our bodies is responsible for maintaining the fluid balance in our bodies. When a blockage or build-up of fluid in our sinuses occurs, we feel a lot of uncomfortable pressure, and it gives us that “stuffy head” feeling. By gently massaging certain areas, you can cause lymphatic drainage which provides instant relief.
Keep in mind that the drainage massage uses very light pressure, essentially the opposite of a deep tissue massage.
To get started, you’ll need to locate the Venus angle, which is located in the small divot right above your collarbone.
Using your pointer fingers, place them on the two bumps of your collarbone by your neck; move your fingers up one inch above the collarbone until you feel only soft tissue. Voila! That’s the Venus angle. From here, you’ll need to “pump” the area very lightly.
Be sure to move slowly, only pumping once every couple seconds. Continue this pumping motion approximately 50-100 times. This movement will cause drainage to occur down your throat.
Next, move to the side of your head. Place your fingers behind your ears and rub them down along your neck.
Gently pulling your hands down, move them along your neck and back up to your ears. Repeat this downward motion approximately 50 times. Next, move your hands to the back of your neck and repeat the same motion, this time gently pulling your hands forward toward the front of your neck. Repeat the motion 50 times.
The next move, Heather calls the “live long and prosper” symbol — Mr. Spock on Star Trek’s memorable hand signal. Keeping your pinky finger and ring finger together, do the same with your pointer and middle fingers; keep the ring finger and middle finger separate.
Place your ears in the V-shaped gap created by your fingers, pull your hands down and gently massage down your face. Repeat the movement 50 times.
After all of the movements have been completed, it’s time to do them in reverse. Move to the back of your neck, then under your ears, and to the front of your collarbone. Each time, gently massaging downward 50 times, ending with 50-100 pumps in the Venus angle.
After completing the drainage movements forward and in reverse, you may notice that you’ll need to clear your throat; this means that the lymphatic system is draining and clearing. At this point, your congestion should be greatly relieved. Be sure to check out Heather’s blog to make sure you don’t have certain conditions that would hinder you from using these techniques.
Heather’s full tutorial on this lymphatic drainage technique is below. Relief from sinus congestion is just a gentle massage away.